TCF news
Could you be a TCF Trustee?
Would you be interested in a rewarding and fulfilling role as a Trustee of The Compassionate Friends (TCF)?
Our Board of Trustees would like to invite you to apply to help run our charitable organisation which offers support, friendship, understanding and hope to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents. We are in an exciting next phase of our development, having just moved to new national office premises in North London and expanded our staff and volunteer base. We are looking for Trustees that can help to continue our development as the national charityoffering peer support to bereaved parents and their families.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance and strategic direction of the charity and as such works in a similar way to a company board of directors, in as much as each trustee often takes on an area of responsibility for the benefit of the charity.
The Board would be particularly assisted by individuals with skills and experience in areas such as but not limited to Information Technology, Fundraising, Charity/Company Law, Managing Charity Finances, Training and Events Management, Volunteer Management, Public Relations and Communications, Human Resources, or with other skills and experience which could be of benefit to the work of TCF. This is not an exhaustive list and you may have other skills that would benefit the charity. Being a charity Trustee is a challenging, but rewarding, role and we always look forward to welcoming new people to the Board. Typically, the amount of time that a board member might be prepared to devote to TCF would be approximately 5 hours per week. The Board meets together 6 times a year, usually in London at the weekend.
"I didn't want to leave. We could've stayed all week!!"
We have received some lovely feedback and comments from the recent TCF supportive weekend for Childless Parents (parents who have lost their only child or children) which was held in a wonderful manor house – Charney Manor - in the depths of the Oxfordshire countryside from 21-23 July. It was so humbling to be able to offer understanding, compassion, support and, above all, hope to these lovely parents for our two days together.
“(We) have just returned from Charney Manor. The TCF organisers were amazing and the parents we met with were all amazing too. A very unique and perfect location for a gathering such as this. I hope we will both take some comfort and hope from such a special weekend too and we both thank you so much for making it happen for us”.
“Thank you for the wonderful work who made the weekend successful… I
felt anxious about going to the retreat but it helped me to travel with
other parents. I was surprised to see so many childless parents who
were also attending the
We're moving!
On Monday 24th July the UK national office of The Compassionate Friends will move to:
The Compassionate Friends
Kilburn Grange
Priory Park Road
London NW6 7UJ
The national office telephone number and email address remain the same at 0345 120 3785 and info@tcf.org.uk.
We hope there will be as little disruption as possible caused by the move and you will still be able to contact us as usual - but please bear with us if you do experience any problems getting hold of us or delays in responses.
Stories of grief, hope and resilience in feature documentary
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Jane Harris (Trustee of The Compassionate Friends) and Jimmy Edmonds have recently completed production of a 75 minute feature documentary A LOVE THAT NEVER DIES. Following the death of their son Joshua in 2011, they set off on a road trip across the USA to find other bereaved parents with whom to share their story and find answers to some basic questions – why do we grieve, how do we grieve and why are we afraid of those who do grieve?
“Each of these families revealed stories of grief that confound social expectations about moving on and letting go” Jimmy
“We wanted to give a voice to grief that is not maudlin or morbid but full of hope and resilience” Jane
They now are delighted that they‘ve been invited to show the film at the The Compassionate Friends USA national conference in Orlando Florida at the end of July.
“TCF were very helpful as we planned our American trip so it’s important to us that we are able to screen the film to such a significant gathering.”
“We’ve been told that the film is beautiful and poetic and that will change the way the world sees grief. A big claim but we do hope that it contributes to a growing conversation about death, dying and bereavement in ways that will both move and inspire.”
The documentary will also be shown at this year's UK TCF National Gathering in Northamptonshire from 10-12 November in a special screening. It will be released to the general public early next year with a planned UK cinema tour followed by availability on the internet.
You can watch the trailer for A LOVE THAT NEVER DIES and find out more about Jane and Jimmy’s work here –
http://thegoodgriefproject.co.uk/
A LOVE THAT NEVER DIES is a Beyond Goodbye Media production for THE GOOD GRIEF PROJECT.
Royal mourners attend funeral of TCF President and Patron Countess Mountbatten
On Tuesday, 27th June the funeral of The Compassionate Friends' President and Patron, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, was held at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London. The Countess wrote for us the story of the death of her son Nicky and here are a few of her thoughts and insights...
'"(losing a child) makes it very much easier to help other people because you share a common bond in your loss".
"I think the lesson I have learned from grief is principally to get your priorities right and to differentiate between the important and unimportant things in life in order not to waste time on the latter. The important aspects concern people and relationships-and not material things".
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Each year thousands of parents suffer the loss of a son or a daughter. Please help us to support families in their time of greatest need.
